


K.C.B.

by aceoftwos



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Kid Capture Brigade - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-03-31 22:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13984434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceoftwos/pseuds/aceoftwos
Summary: Everything stops. For a moment, Kaito forgets about Snake. He locks eyes with Aoko and watches her.She reaches for him and stops, just shy of his arm, and shakes her head. Akako steadies her, thinly veiled sympathy written all over her face, and Kaito watches as Aoko’s trust in him breaks.It’ll be worth it if they’re all still breathing by the end of the night.





	1. Not According To Plan

**Author's Note:**

> i thought this up on a whim and ended up really liking it. hopefully you like it too. i'm not sure how long this is gonna be tbh. i got most of the second chapter planned out but beyond that... it's all up in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to the disaster zone.

Kaito is pretty goddamn sure that it’s the worst day of his life when the Kid Capture Brigade makes an appearance at his latest heist. Shinichi is still at home because he got called in at five o’clock in the morning and worked for thirteen hours straight and Kaito refused to let him come. Nakamori is surprisingly on point, having come uncomfortably close to discovering Kid’s disguise several times that evening. And to top it all off, Snake and his cronies are staking out the roof. Clearly, tonight is not his night.

Not that _any_ night is really his night lately. It’s been getting harder and harder to stay on top of things since he started trying to juggle planning a wedding on top of everything. Damn Shinichi and his stupidly fucking romantic, absolutely goddamn _amazing_ proposal.

Small consolation, he’s engaged to the man of his dreams, whoop-de-fucking-do. It’s gonna be a very poor consolation prize if he ends up dead. Which isn’t going to be tonight if Kaito has anything to say about it.

Which isn’t gonna be tonight… unless something stupid happens. Something like the self-styled Kid Capture Brigade slamming through the rooftop door, looking determined. While bullets are flying. Kaito loves them all dearly, even Hakuba in spite of the stick up his ass, but he’s going to kill them.

Snake looks right at them. He sees them, sees them see his face and his gun.  

Kaito’s either going to kill them himself or get them killed with his stupid, selfish suicide mission. At the moment, the details of their demise aren’t that concerning to him. “Get down,” he hisses at them.

Akako drops down next to him, muttering something under her breath. He _hopes_ it’s some red magic bullshit to get them out of this situation but he doubts it. Lady Luck’s had her back turned on Kaito for a few weeks now and there’s no way she’d come back so suddenly, so conveniently. Hakuba and Aoko duck down on Akako’s other side, too slowly for Kaito’s liking, and they just keep staring at him with a combination of suspicion and disbelief.

Aoko isn’t going to go anywhere Kid tells her to and Kaito knows it. He stands a half decent chance of getting Akako out of this and even Hakuba, but Aoko hates Kid so purely… Kaito tries anyways.

“We have to move,” Kid says quietly. “I can distract him long enough for you three to get to the do—”

“Aoko isn’t going anywhere Kid tells her to! No way!”

Kid turns towards her, monocle opaque in the moonlight. Kaito buries his feelings and thinks fast. There’s only one way out that doesn’t end in them dead. Aoko _needs_ to listen to him.

“You don’t trust Kid? Fine.” Kaito hesitates as his fingers brush the rim of his silk hat, its shadowy grace the only thing standing between him and the truth. He yanks the hat off his head, crumpling it like a used handkerchief in his fist, then carefully slips the monocle in his breast pocket. “Then trust me.”

Everything stops. For a moment, Kaito forgets about Snake. He locks eyes with Aoko and watches her.

She reaches for him and stops, just shy of his arm, and shakes her head. Akako steadies her, thinly veiled sympathy written all over her face, and Kaito watches as Aoko’s trust in him breaks.

It’ll be worth it if they’re all still breathing by the end of the night. He hopes.

“We have to move,” Kaito repeats. “I can distract him long enough for you three to get to the door.” When Aoko still doesn’t move, still won’t take her eyes off him, Kaito pushes her towards the others and says insistently, “Come _on_ , Ahouko, go!” This time, she moves.

Kaito puts the monocle back against his eye and replaces his hat. Kid stands up and ducks left, away from the door. A spray of bullets follows in his wake.

“Give it up already, Kid!”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” Kid replies, false confidence oozing from his voice. He leans out from the wall and fires a round of diamonds at Snake, sparing a glance to the door and getting the heat of a bullet against his cheek in return. There’s no one on the roof anymore except him and Snake.

And then there was one, Kaito thinks.

Kid dives for the edge and makes like he’s going to open his glider and drops like a stone towards an open window in the stairwell. Snake fires at the balloon he released in his place and it pops just as he lands.

Just above him, the Kid Capture Brigade is attempting to barricade the door. A nice idea, though it won’t keep Snake up there for long. He and his cronies have got too many resources at their disposal. Kaito waves his friends towards him, wondering how long until they stop being his friends, and leads them to the ground floor as quickly and quietly as he knows how.

Kid ditches his costume as they hurry down, reversing bits of it and disappearing others. He’s wearing jeans and a deep blue button down when they finally step out near the entrance.

Aoko stops with the main gallery in sight. “Aoko’s dad is in there, we have to—”

“You can’t,” Kaito says shortly.

“But—”

“Snake knows your face now and he _will_ kill you if he gets a chance. You can’t go to the Inspector.”

“But—”

“Damnit, Aoko,” Kaito snarls, his nerves fraying. All he wants is to wake up and pretend none of this ever happened. “I don’t want you dead, so help me I _will_ knock you out and carry you!” She falls into a shocked silence and Kaito snaps, “ _Move_.”

He speeds ahead and clears them a path, pausing every now and then to make sure he hasn’t left anyone behind. Akako has her arm around Aoko’s waist, propelling her forward, and Hakuba’s bringing up the rear, subtly looking over his shoulder for anyone who might be following them. Kaito exchanges a quick look with him, trusts his judgement that no one’s on them, and turns the corner to his safe house.

“Stay here,” Kaito says, leaving them in the main room. “And try not to make a ton of noise.” He steps into the kitchen and pulls out his phone, tapping Shinichi’s name from his list of recent calls.

“Kaito?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Who else would dare wake you up at this hour?”

“All of my friends enjoy watching me suffer,” Shinichi says flatly. He sounds alert but just tired enough that Kaito actually believes he slept like he was supposed to. “What’s wrong?”

“You need better friends,” Kaito says.

“Just answer the question, Kaito.”

“Y’know how Aoko started that, uh… Kid Capture Brigade thing?”

“Fuck.”

“They came to the heist tonight.”

“Fuck,” Shinichi repeats.

“Snake was there, with his buddies, they saw him and he saw them. We need to lay low for a while.”

“You can stay with me. None of your safe houses are big enough for four people.”

“Thank you,” Kaito says softly. “We’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Drive safely.”

“See you soon.”

Kaito pauses a moment, takes a deep breath, and puts his poker face back in place. When he turns and steps back into the main room, he’s got a smile on his face and a spring in his step.

“What’s the plan, Kuroba?” Hakuba is quiet, like the calm before the storm. “What now?”

“Well, my safe houses aren’t built for more than one or two at most,” Kaito says, rocking back on his heels before righting himself. “So we’re leaving.”

“Where?”

“None of your business,” Kaito replies cheerfully. “C’mon, hop to it.”

“How? Trains don’t run this late.”

Thank you Hakuba Saguru, you amazing-detective-slash-genius, for your valuable insight, Kaito thinks sourly. “Then it’s a good thing that I’ve got a car,” he says, smirking. Kaito herds them out the door and down the stairs to the tiny garage, whistling as he walks. He carefully ignores Aoko’s blank expression and how heavily she’s leaning into Hakuba.

“This isn’t your car,” Hakuba says, frowning. “You didn’t steal this, did you?”

“I’m a criminal,” Kaito reminds him, grinning lazily as he twirls the keys on a finger.

Kaito’s chest tightens. He’s about five seconds from a breakdown. He feels like shit making light of the situation but he knows he’s going to be a wreck if he stops to think about it. None of them were ever supposed to know about him. Kaito had resigned himself to listening to Hakuba’s constant suspicions and Akako’s ominous warnings about Kid, but he’d never planned for them to _know_. And fuck if it doesn’t make his life infinitely more complicated, like it wasn’t complicated enough.

Akako folds herself into the passenger seat and Hakuba gently pushes Aoko into the back, sliding in next to her. Kaito gets behind the wheel and turns the key, pulling out and pressing the button to shut the door behind them as they hit the street.

“So that’s the man after Pandora,” Akako says, her tone purely conversational.

“That’s Snake,” Kaito confirms quietly.

“Uglier than I imagined,” she says, sniffing dismissively. Kaito snorts and then it turns into a laugh, quickly blossoming into full blown hysterics. Akako looks away, hiding a grin. It settles his nerves and the silence turns from awkward to at least marginally comfortable. Then Aoko speaks up.

“Kaito…”

After a pause, Kaito asks reluctantly, “What is it?”

“You’re Kid,” Aoko says. It’s not a question. There’s no getting out of this now. Or ever.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

There are a lot of things he could say, excuses he could make. He could explain his reasons to her, he wants to explain everything to her… But now isn’t the time. “I have my reasons,” Kaito says.

“Tell Aoko why.”

“Wait until we’re safe,” he replies. Aoko nods and resumes staring out the window.

Kaito turns off onto a side road and pulls into an open garage, letting the rumble of the engine fade into silence. A shadow peels away from the wall, and Kaito really doesn’t think that he’s ever been happier to see Shinichi.  He’s always happy to see Shinichi but he could really use someone on his side right now.

“Hey,” Shinichi says, softly. He’s swaying a bit on his feet so Kaito moves to steady him. “You’re late.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. akako is one of kaito's best friends and she always knows the right thing to say to break the tension. she once made it snow in august because kaito was sad.
> 
> 2\. hakuba stays quiet bc he knew and even tho he knew, confirmation is so much harder to live with.
> 
> 3\. aoko... she'll be okay. i hope.


	2. Back On Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> special thanks to ace, who was there to give feedback when my wives weren't available, and to the wife squad as always.

“Hey,” Shinichi says, softly. He’s swaying a bit on his feet so Kaito moves to steady him. “You’re late.”

“I know, I know,” Kaito says, smiling wearily, “Sorry, Shin- _chan_.” Then, much to the apparent shock of Hakuba and Aoko, he leans in to kiss one of the most famous detectives of their generation.

Shinichi kisses back briefly, letting his fingers rest on Kaito’s jawline, then takes him by the elbow and motions all of them inside. He suppresses a yawn and smacks the button that slides the garage door shut behind them. Shinichi leads the way to the living room then turns to them.

“It’s late, we should all get some sleep.”

“Not until Aoko hears the truth,” Aoko says shakily.

“Wha—no, Nakamori- _san_ , it’s late,” Shinichi protests.

“No.” Kaito puts a hand on his arm. “She’s right. She— _they_ deserve to know.”

Shinichi looks at him steadily for a second then sighs and rubs at his eyes. “Fine. You owe me for this, Kai, I swear to fuck.” He sits down heavily and rests his forehead against the heel of his hands. “I’m gonna need so much coffee in the morning.”

“Like you don’t drink obscene amounts of coffee anyway,” Kaito says, snorting as he lowers himself next to Shinichi. Akako sits on the couch opposite them, Hakuba and Aoko settling more hesitantly on either side of her. “It’s not like you have to be up early anyways.”

“I do if you want breakfast,” Shinichi mumbles. “No food in the fridge.”

“Shinichi, you’re supposed to buy more food _before_ it runs out.”

“Fuck you, Kaito. You don’t obey societal conventions, why should I?”

“One of us is an actual, respectable member of society.”

“So?”

“You’re impossible,” Kaito says, smiling in that exasperated yet fond way that Aoko’s been forced to master over their years of friendship. It’s an expression she never thought she’d see it on his face and, even if she had, she never imagined it would be aimed at someone other than her.

“You’re the criminal hellbent on dating a police officer,” Shinichi retorts.

“Hey, unfair, you were just a high school detective when I started courting you.”

“Wait,” Hakuba says, “you _know_?!”

“Know what?” Shinichi turns to Hakuba, a slight warning in his eyes. Hakuba ignores it.

“You know that he’s Kid?”  

“Well, yeah.” He gives Hakuba a look that suggests he’s a bit thick. “Seriously, we live together. Do you really think he could keep that a secret from me?”

“But he’s a criminal,” Hakuba protests weakly.

“Oh, wow, really? I didn’t notice!” Shinichi fakes wide-eyed innocence for a moment before snorting and rolling his eyes. “I’m not an idiot, Hakuba. Yeah, he breaks the law on occasion, but he’s not a murderer or anything.” He shrugs. “Kaito’s got his reasons and I respect that.”

Kaito aims a fond look his way and bumps their shoulders together gently. Shinichi’s answering grin is interrupted by a yawn. He groans and drops his head onto Kaito’s shoulder, whining for a moment before getting to his feet. “I’ll go get started on the tea,” Shinichi mumbles. “Think we’re all gonna need it by the time we’re done here…”

He pauses to look at the Kid Capture Brigade and then walks off, leaving Kaito with the three people he never wanted to be certain of his identity. Alone, with absolutely no defense.

“I never set out to be a thief,” he says simply. Best start with the basics and work his way up. “I mean… I guess you already know but, I’m the second Kid, not the original. That was my dad.”

“Toichi- _ojiisan_ ,” Aoko says numbly.

“Yeah,” Kaito says quietly. “He became a thief, uh, pretty much by accident.”

“How the _hell_ ,” Hakuba says incredulously, “do you become a thief by accident?”

“My mom wanted to get out of the thievery business but she was too famous,” Kaito rambles off quickly, because as much as he doesn’t want to move on to what he knows is coming next, he’s really heard this story way too many times, “and my dad fell in love at first sight so he became a thief to take the spotlight off her so that she could retire in peace.”

“God, no wonder you have so little regard for the law,” Hakuba mutters with a groan. “ _Both_ of your parents are criminals.”

“Hush, I didn’t bring you here so you could insult me and my family.”

“Then why did you bring us here?”

“Would you rather,” Kaito says icily, “I’d left you there?” Hakuba looks stricken. “I brought you here because you’re my best friends, and I would much rather you be alive to hate me than ignorant and _dead_.”

“I… I apologize,” Hakuba says hesitantly.

“Don’t strain yourself,” Kaito replies, his tone a bit meaner than he intended it to be. He takes a breath and holds it until his heart rate slows back to normal. “This is hard enough as is, so please. Just shut up and let me explain. You’re the ones who want to know, I’d be more than happy to just leave and never mention any of this ever again.”

“We’ll listen,” Akako assures him, aiming pointed looks at Aoko and Hakuba. Kaito almost suspects she’s cast some sort of silencing magic, with how quick they both shut up. “Continue, Kaito- _kun_.”

“Thanks.” After a moment, Kaito starts up again. “Kid got famous, or, well… _infamous_ , pretty quickly. And he got approached by a group we like to call the Black Organization about a job. They wanted him to find and steal a gem called Pandora. It’s described as a flawless doublet that shines red under the light of the full moon, and it’s rumored to cry tears that grant immortality under very specific circumstances.”

Every line of Hakuba’s body is screaming that what Kaito is saying isn’t possible, but he stays quiet.

“It sounds ridiculous,” Kaito says dryly. “Trust me, I know.” He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter what I believe, just what they do.” There’s a pause and then Kaito continues in a darker tone. “Dad essentially threw the offer back in their face, he told them that he’d find it before they did and shatter it.”

“Why?”

“Because they were criminals.” Hakuba snorts and Kaito glares at him before adding, “Not like me. I’m talking about the dangerous kind, the kind that wouldn’t think twice before shooting you in cold blood.”

“Take a break,” Shinichi says, entering the room carrying a tray of mugs and a plate of cookies. “And no, Kaito, that wasn’t an invitation to start singing Hamilton. If I have to listen to that soundtrack one more time,” he adds, rather cheerfully, “I may reconsider my aversion to murder and strangle you in your sleep.”

“Aw,” Kaito says, drawing the sound out with a grin, “Shin- _chan_ , you say the sweetest things!”

 “Shut up, dear,” Shinichi replies dryly. He sets down the tray and passes out the mugs.

Hot chocolate with one big marshmallow for Aoko, strong Earl Grey tea with a touch of milk for Hakuba, Kaito’s secret blend herbal tea with a spoonful of honey for Akako, chocolate cherry tea with far too much sugar for Kaito, and then coffee cherry tea for himself.

Shinichi’s hand lingers on Kaito’s for a moment as he hands over the drink, offering a softer smirk than normal as he curls up on the couch and shoves his cold feet under Kaito’s thighs.

There’s a lull in the conversation as Hakuba and Aoko take in the bizarre scene before them. Their mutual friend, Kuroba Kaito, who they now know is Kid the Phantom Thief, being intimate with Division Two’s Inspector Kudo Shinichi, a well-respected police officer famous for his morals and strong sense of justice.

“So, are you two…” Aoko trails off, unsure of where she and Kaito stand now, how much she can ask.

Sounding amused, Shinichi asks, “Together?”

“It’s nearly official,” Kaito says. “Though we haven’t actually set a date yet…”

“Or finished writing your vows yet,” Akako reminds him, smirking.

“Something like, ‘I promise to be your partner in crime from this day forward’?”

“Oh, I like that one.” Kaito grins and reaches for one of the hundreds notepad and pen sets that Shinichi keeps hidden near almost every flat surface in the house. “You could totally use that, I’m writing it down for you.” Shinichi smacks his hand away with a hint at a smile.

“No, I am not using that.” Kaito looks about to protest when Shinichi continues, “Your mother would start giggling, then my parents would start. Right about then, your taskforce would start asking questions and no one wants that.”

“Who said we’re inviting them to the wedding.”

“They’re our parents,” Shinichi says, laughing. “I think we’re obligated to invite them. And you cannot tell me you aren’t planning to somehow get the taskforce to come because that would be a blatant lie.”

“Yeah, well, I could be dead by that point and the whole question would prove academic.”

“Keep positive,” Shinichi chides, not-so-gently flicking Kaito on the nose.

“I had to listen to _your_ whining while we took down the black organization,” Kaito says petulantly.

“I had a boyfriend twice my physical age who, had he done anything more than _hold hands_ , would have been wrongly labelled a pedophile. I was under the impression that I’d be stuck in a body ten years too young for the rest of my life. Not to mention lying to everyone I love because an evil syndicate straight out of a cliché spy movie wanted me dead.”

Aoko and Hakuba exchanged looks. Akako, having heard this before, simply rolled her eyes.

“At least one of my best friends probably hates me right now. I’ve got a sniper trying to kill me because of something my dad did over a decade ago. I’m trying to find a legendary gem that probably doesn’t even exist, mostly by breaking the law. Incidentally, dating a police officer. I’m also lying to everyone I love or, not anymore, I guess. And trying to plan a wedding on top of all that.”

“No need to get snarky, Kai. That’s _my_ job.”

“You help me with my job, I should get to help with yours.”

“Wha—!”

“What would your co-workers think,” Kaito teases, “hm? Modern Holmes helping an internationally wanted criminal plan to commit grand larceny.”

“My co-workers are never going to find out,” Shinichi says pleasantly, adding menacingly, “ _Are they_?”

“Don’t be like that, I’m sure Takagi and Satou wouldn’t mind,” Kaito says, grinning.

“Kaito- _kun_ ,” Akako drawls lazily, “do stop trying to rile up Saguru- _kun_.” Sure enough, Shinichi looks over and Hakuba’s expression is caught somewhere between incensed and nauseated. He must be tired if he hadn’t even noticed all the subtle jabs to Hakuba’s sensibilities. “It’s not nice.”

It’s then that Kaito catches sight of Aoko’s expression. Her lips are twitching at the corners like they do when she’s trying not to cry and she’s focused her eyes just above all their heads. She’s distancing herself.

“Look, it’s been a long day,” Shinichi says suddenly, neatly stopping Kaito from putting his foot in his mouth. “We’re all tired and this isn’t the right time for a discussion. We should all get some sleep. Akako- _san_ , can you show Nakamori- _san_ and Hakuba to the guestrooms? I think the sky blue and dusty orange rooms are open, and the scarlet red room is still set up for you.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer, disappearing up the spiral staircase in the entryway with Kaito in tow. The moment Shinichi slides the deadbolt on their bedroom door, Kaito sinks to the floor.

“She hates me,” Kaito mumbles. “I fucked up, I couldn’t think of another way out.”

“She’s alive because of you,” Shinichi replies firmly. “You can’t blame yourself for this, love.”

“I fucked up,” Kaito repeats.

Shinichi knows that nothing he can say will fix this, not right now, so he just sinks down to the floor next to his distraught fiancé and holds him closely, whispering assurances and wiping away the tears when they finally make a long overdue appearance.

It’s a long time before they finally fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. is kaito okay? i mean, probably not. but we'll find out next chapter, i think. don't worry, shinichi's got his back. 
> 
> 2\. does aoko really hate kaito? was he right? did he actually fuck up? nah, bitch, best friends means for life. 
> 
> 3\. some of you might be wondering why akako is so involved in this wedding business when all signs point to kaito keeping his friends away from shinichi's. that's a gay surprise for later.
> 
> an: if there are issues i don't even wanna hear it i'm tired i've been working on this chapter for days. and i got no idea when the next one will be. i'm off to work on doctor, doctor.

**Author's Note:**

> hey, thanks so much for reading! please comment if you liked it, or hit me up @ao2fics on tumblr!


End file.
